2

The sleepy village of Godric's Hollow was just beginning to stir for the day. The sun was already high in the sky, its brilliant yellow shine casting away the last flecks of dark blue sky that signaled the night. In spite of the fact that some people were moving about and starting their daily routines, it was still mostly quiet in the streets of the small town.

The roar of the flying motorbike's engine changed that, as Sirius Black turned into a hairpin dive down towards the main street. In the tiny side compartment of the car, Peter Pettigrew let out a terrified squeal as Sirius whooped with delight, pulling up at the last moment and setting the bike down gently with a light bump on the cobbled road.

Remus Lupin came to a skidding halt not too far from them, riding on a Comet Two Sixty broom, his long hair blown back from his prematurely aging face. Despite being only fifteen years old, Remus looked as though he had already lived several lifetimes more than that—although his face was cracked into an elated smile now.

That smile was nothing compared to the final pair that came scorching down towards the cobbled stone. James Potter guided his Nimbus 1500 towards the pavement at breakneck speed while his passenger Lily Evans kept her arms wrapped tightly around his midsection, her bright green eyes peering over his shoulder as he spun them rapidly, pulling out of his whirling dive and stopping in mid-air next to Sirius. James was grinning goofily as he looked at his friends.

'I think I'm going to be sick,' Peter said from the side compartment of the bike. He had a distinctly green hue to him.

'I told you that you should have come with me,' Remus chuckled as he hopped off his broom.

Peter moaned as Sirius barked with laughter. The bike began to rumble along the street as they all moved back towards the house.

'At least you weren't flying with Potter, Peter,' Lily said kindly as she ran a hand through her windswept hair.

James snorted. 'Come on, Evans—you know you were never in danger,' he said smugly.

Lily rolled her eyes. 'Tell that to the seven forty-seven you almost hit.'

'Oh is that what that was?' James laughed. Sirius joined him, the two delighting in their own clever flying theatrics. Remus and Lily exchanged a look that was somewhat akin to parents sighing in exasperation over their children. 'I thought it was too big to be a bird.'

Sirius laughed. 'I think the bloke driving it might have gotten a good look at you, though,' he said. 'I saw his eyes. They were as big as dinner plates.'

Peter groaned. 'Are we going to get in trouble for that?'

'Only if he tells someone—and only if that someone believes him,' James added with a roguish grin.

Lily sighed. 'Next time, I'll fly.'

James chuckled. 'You'll fly when I want to end up as a James-flavored pancake on the front of a seven-whatsit-seven,' he declared.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him as they reached the front yard of the Potter House. James quickly glanced up at the window to his parents' room—the lights were still out, which he took as a hopeful sign that they were still in bed.

'We really should have gotten back earlier,' Peter said worriedly.

Sirius waved a hand dismissively. 'Come on, we had to make sure nobody would get to the office before Dumbridge did,' he said. 'And then it was a task just to avoid being seen by her.'

'I don't know about that,' Remus mused. 'I think I'd take getting seen by her over getting caught red-handed by your Dad.'

James motioned for everyone to be silent as they crossed the yard. Sirius jogged his bike around to the small garage they had constructed that summer especially for it. James and Remus approached the door first, opening it and rushing to the broom closet to stash their brooms.

'Remember the story,' James said firmly as Sirius rejoined them. 'We decided to get together for breakfast. To the kitchen, now!'

They moved stealthily through the living room and entered the kitchen. Remus and Peter went first, followed by Sirius and Lily. James went last and promptly collided into Lily's back as she had stopped short. 'What's the hold up—oh,' James said flatly.

Mr. Potter was sitting at the breakfast table, a cup of tea in his hand and an unopened edition of the Daily Prophet sitting on the table. The last year had not been overly kind to him—his hair was white and thinning, he had lost most of his muscle definition, and he looked perpetually tired. His hazel eyes, however, were alive with the same fire that had made him so formidable as the head of the Auror Office in his day. His face was unreadable as he took in the scene before him—James, Sirius, Remus, Peter and Lily, all arriving at once, all clearly having just taken a flight somewhere, and all looking as though they had been caught with a smoking gun in their hands.

'Good morning,' Mr. Potter said. His tone was pleasant, but his face remained an impassive mask.

'G—g—good morning, Mr. Potter,' Peter stammered.

Sirius waved casually, Remus nodded, Lily grimaced and James smirked.

'I've just heard a rather interesting story,' Mr. Potter said casually as he took a sip from his tea cup, his eyes now focused squarely on James. 'Can you imagine what that was?'

James cleared his throat. 'Not that Mr. Higgins' dog has been on the loose again? He should Transfigure that thing into a newt,' he lied. Sirius laughed nervously.

'No, it was not about Mr. Higgins' dog,' Mr. Potter said as he placed his cup of tea down. 'This news comes from London.' He paused as everyone squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze. 'Where have you all just come from?'

All five of them answered at once.

'We came for breakfast!' Remus said.

'Potter invited us over!' Lily added.

'It was my idea—told them to come for breakfast,' Sirius said.

'I told them all to come round for breakfast,' James said.

'James invited us to eat him!' Peter stammered.

Everyone turned to look at Peter who had flushed red. 'I mean—you know what I mean—he invited us here to eat breakfast,' he said hastily.

James looked back at his father, fighting off the urge to grimace as Mr. Potter fixed Peter with a piercing gaze. Peter did his best to find a hole on the floor to study curiously as if his life depended on it.

Mr. Potter cleared his throat. 'You remember Dolores Umbridge, from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I gather?' he asked. His tone could have been conversational.

'Rings a bell,' James said slowly.

'I should think so,' Mr. Potter said in false surprise. 'She tried to put you in Azkaban, and your lovely friend Ms. Evans kindly attempted to rearrange her face for her last year.'

Lily smiled bashfully, her cheeks flushing to match the color of her hair.

'So what about her?' Sirius asked, trying to sound as though he didn't know anything.

Mr. Potter drummed his fingers on the table. 'It seems that someone—or some people—broke into her office over the course of the evening,' he said. 'They placed charms on a number of items within the office, turning it into the equivalent of a bouncing gymnasium. To go along with that, her furniture began to dance and assault members of the staff, and the grand finale was that her door has sealed itself. They are unable to open it.'

James fought off the urge once again to look at Lily—inside, however, he was marveling at her charms ability.

'Sounds like a rough day at work,' Remus said softly.

'Indeed,' Mr. Potter replied. 'The only hint was a message left on the door—a group called the Marauders claimed responsibility for this.'

'That's a coincidence,' Peter squeaked.

'Indeed. Very coincidental that the culprits would choose the same name for themselves that you have chosen for your little group,' Mr. Potter said. Again, his tone was conversational, but his piercing gaze had turned on James once again. 'Naturally, if there was any evidence that could possibly link the five of you to the incident, Umbridge would stop at nothing to hold you accountable.'

'So…they haven't got any evidence, then?' Sirius asked. James groaned, quickly turning it into a cough to mask the sound.

Mr. Potter glanced at Sirius. 'No, they haven't,' he said.

'So who told you all of this?' James asked.

'Alastor Moody, first,' Mr. Potter said. 'And then Dolores Umbridge herself. She called via the Floo Network—she was rather keen to speak to you.'

James swallowed. 'What did you tell her?'

'I told her that my son was asleep, and that I had no inclination of waking him up, let alone to talk to someone like her,' Mr. Potter replied. He glanced at the others. 'You all seem to have agreed that you were safe and sound in your own beds last night, and that you have just arrived here for breakfast this morning,' he said. 'Stick to that. Do I make myself understood?'

'Yes, sir,' everyone said at once.

Mr. Potter pursed his lips as he looked at them all. 'Why don't you all go up to James and Sirius' room,' he suggested. 'I'll get some breakfast sent up to you once I am done speaking to my son,' he said, fixing James with his stare once more.

The others slowly filed out of the room, each taking it in turn to shoot James a sympathetic look. He was faintly reminded of his trial before the Wizengamot the previous summer, where everyone was looking at him worriedly. Mr. Potter waited until they had all left the room before he motioned for James to sit down at the table across from him. He complied instantly.

Mr. Potter took a long sip from his cup of tea, draining the rest of it and then idly waving his wand, sending the cup neatly over to the sink. 'So,' he said after a moment. 'That was quite elaborate.'

'What do you mean?'

Mr. Potter smiled, and James was somewhat relieved to see that it was genuine. 'The prank, son,' he said. 'Don't try to pull anything over my eyes. We both know who was behind it.' He paused, a smirk playing over his face. 'Whose idea were the walls?'

'Sirius's,' James said, a smirk playing over his own face to mirror his father's.

Mr. Potter chuckled. 'Alastor could barely control himself when he called to give me the heads up about Umbridge,' he said with a sigh. 'Apparently, word of the amazing bouncing Umbridge has already spread like wildfire throughout the Ministry.'

James grinned. 'Sirius will be glad to hear it.'

'And what about the dancing furniture?' Mr. Potter asked.

'Peter,' James replied.

Mr. Potter shook his head. 'He's a surprising one,' he said. 'I wouldn't have thought of that. And I assume one of you must have charmed the entire office to start the mayhem once she said the magic words?' he asked.

'That was me,' James said.

'Well done,' Mr. Potter said with a slight nod of his head.

'Remus did the multiplying charm,' James said. 'He also left the note on the door.'

Mr. Potter nodded. 'And who sealed the door?'

'Evans,' James replied.

Mr. Potter shook his head again, grinning to himself as he did so. 'Naturally, as your father, I should tell you that what you lot did this morning was abysmally foolish and terribly dangerous. Dolores Umbridge has—unfortunately—got some clout in the Ministry, and if she is ever in a position of power over any of you, she could stand to make your lives extremely difficult.'

'Yeah, I understand,' James said.

'And I also should let you know that—as a former law enforcement official and more importantly as your father—I do not condone this sort of behavior. Clear?' Mr. Potter asked.

'Crystal,' James replied.

Mr. Potter smiled again. 'On the other hand,' he said slowly, glancing at James as he did. 'That was wicked, James.'

James grinned. 'Thanks,' he said.

'One piece of advice before you run off to join your friends,' Mr. Potter said as he stood up from the table. 'And there's no pressure in this statement whatsoever, James. But that girl upstairs? Lily Evans? You need to marry her.'

James flushed in spite of himself. 'I'll do my best, Dad,' he said.

'Off you go then,' Mr. Potter said with a smirk that made him look several years younger as James bounded from the kitchen.